"Here you go!" Li Xuan sent a Honkai Zombie-girl with bright red hair—clearly a self-destructing type—flying high into the air with a kick… The black skirt fluttered, revealing a corner of the striped boy-shorts underneath…
The Honkai Zombie-girl traced a perfect parabola through the air before landing heavily on a group of her kind. "Boom!!" She exploded violently, taking many of her surrounding comrades with her.
"To think there was a self-destructing Honkai Zombie-girl mixed in with the horde, how insidious…" Li Xuan remarked, watching the impromptu grenade eliminate a good number of Honkai Zombies.
"Achoo~… Huh?! Why did I suddenly feel like sneezing?" a female voice echoed from the void.
"Everyone! Hang in there, we're almost at the exit!" Li Xuan shouted, boosting morale as he punched away swarming Honkai Zombies and shot them down one by one with his Super Electromagnetic Hand Cannon.
There were simply too many of them, relentlessly swarming forward without any sign of fatigue. And for some unknown reason, as time went on, the Honkai Zombies seemed to be getting stronger; Li Xuan could clearly feel their skin becoming tougher.
Still, they were getting closer and closer to the exit… only a dozen or so steps away.
Just then, the apex predator hidden within the horde and the darkness finally made its move. It leaped high into the air, its cumbersome body as nimble as a bird's, and descended with a roar of wind and the stench of death…
Thud!!
It was a humanoid Honkai Beast with a massive, pure-white body. Its left limb was fused with a bone-like, pure-white giant shield, while its right limb was a sharp, conical spear. The front of its head was strangely concave, glowing with an ominous purple light, and wing-like protrusions on its back radiated dense Honkai energy…
"Is that… a Templar-class Honkai Beast?!" Bronya looked up at the suffocating figure, data flashing in her eyes. Even her usually emotionless voice trembled slightly.
This was one of the rarest top-tier Honkai Beasts, one that only A-Rank Valkyries from Schicksal and above could face in direct combat…
"Eh?! My god… it's huge…" Kiana stared at the Honkai Beast, which was large enough to cast a shadow over her, feeling a sense of powerlessness.
"…" Mei's expression was blank, but her hand gripping the sword's hilt was slick with sweat.
"This kind of Honkai Beast again?!" Li Xuan said, staring in astonishment at the colossal creature blocking the exit. This wasn't the first time he'd encountered such a large Honkai Beast. He and Yae Sakura had been attacked by one before, and he'd nearly been buried alive. Back then, though, Sakura seemed to have killed it in just a few slashes.
"There's no time… we have to defeat it quickly!" Li Xuan said, ruthlessly punching away the Honkai Zombies that had surrounded them as he charged toward the Knight-class Honkai Beast blocking the exit. If they didn't deal with it quickly, they would be surrounded by the countless Honkai Zombies behind them and likely be wiped out…
"Hah!" Mei was the first to charge forward, her Void Greatsword flashing as she executed a continuous cross-slash against the Honkai Beast's giant shield.
Clang!~~
Sword met shield with a sound like metal on metal. Mei felt as if she had struck a giant bell; a terrifying shockwave traveled up her weapon and into her body. "Ugh…" She stumbled back several steps, a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth—her internal organs had been damaged by the impact.
"Mei-senpai! Damn it!" Kiana's eyes blazed with fury as she saw the blood on Mei's lips, glaring at the Knight-class Honkai Beast blocking their path. If looks could kill, this beast would have died dozens of times over…
"Die!" Kiana raised her seven-star Divine Weapon, Asgard's Hammer, and aimed at the damned bone shield. Bang! Boom! A bullet wreathed in lightning shot from the muzzle.
Thwack! As expected of the seven-star Asgard's Hammer, a single shot left a deep hole in the giant shield, but… it still didn't break through. The Knight-class Honkai Beast only staggered back a few steps, blocking the exit even more thoroughly.
"…" The silent Bronya's Project Bunny 19C raised its cannon toward the Honkai Beast, firing a laser beam it had already charged.
The Knight-class Honkai Beast tilted its head slightly, its purple-glowing skull turning toward Bronya. Though it had no eyes, Bronya felt as if it were staring right at her. The Honkai Beast angled its giant shield…
The orange laser beam struck the white bone shield, but the smooth surface deflected part of the energy, and the remaining laser only managed to make the shield glow red… It was hopelessly powerful.
"…" Li Xuan witnessed everyone's futile attacks on the Knight-class Honkai Beast and helplessly halted his own advance. Without the shield from his Xuanyuan Festive Garb, even he wouldn't dare to charge in and fight it head-on. After all, that three-meter-long spear it carried was no decoration. A single strike would surely cost him his life…
"Roar roar roar roar roar!!" The dense crowd of Honkai Zombies swarmed in again. It looked like they were about to be completely surrounded…
"I'm sorry, old friend…" Li Xuan murmured to the Super Electromagnetic Hand Cannon in his hand. To unleash a massive burst of power in an instant, there was only one way…
Every Divine Weapon had its own unique Honkai energy core, which was why they were far superior to ordinary weapons…
Divine Weapons absorbed the free-roaming Honkai energy in the air, and this energy, following the weapon's unique energy transmission paths, would produce different effects…
The Super Electromagnetic Hand Cannon in Li Xuan's right hand began to crackle, "Biri biri…" Azure sparks danced across its black frame…
"Aaaargh! Go to hell!!" Li Xuan, his eyes bloodshot, hurled the six-star Divine Weapon, now flashing with blue light and sparks, at the Knight-class Honkai Beast blocking their path… His heart was bleeding…
In mid-air, the dark Super Electromagnetic Hand Cannon had already transformed into a glowing sphere. The gun's frame continuously broke down, turning into pure energy that emitted a brilliant azure light…
Immense electrical power swirled around the sphere of light as it descended silently and made contact with the giant shield that had thwarted them…
Zzzzzzt~! The ball of lightning emitted a piercing sound, like the cry of a cornered beast. BOOM! In the next moment, it erupted into thunder and light…
The tremendous shockwave knocked everyone to the ground. The blinding light made it impossible to open their eyes.
The piercing shriek and dazzling light slowly faded. The Honkai Beast that had stood like a monument blocking their escape was now…
"…turned into a pile of charred ash…" Kiana said in astonishment, staring at the unrecognizable black, burnt mass at the exit.
"Let's go…" Li Xuan said, his voice hoarse. His heart felt like it was being drenched by a torrential downpour. It hurt so much!! A perfectly good Divine Weapon, gone just like that! If he had been wearing his Xuanyuan Festive Garb, he never would have had to sacrifice a six-star weapon!
Damn this cross-dressing! Li Xuan screamed internally, wishing he could tear the Japanese high school Sailor Uniform he was wearing to shreds!
Kiana helped Mei up and they headed for the exit. Bronya used Project Bunny to knock back the advancing Honkai Zombies.
"It's good to be alive!" Stepping outside, Li Xuan was greeted by the familiar, unchanging scenery of Nagazora City: dilapidated roads, abandoned skyscrapers… The sight of the blood-red sunset brought tears to his eyes. He had survived. He was so happy…
"We will meet again, Kiana-chan~ You will ascend the throne and become a king~" As Kiana, supporting Mei, dazedly walked out of the carnival, she seemed to hear a female voice whisper to her.
"Hmm?" Kiana turned around, but all she saw were the swarming Honkai Zombie-girls… "A hallucination?!"
Bronya fired a blast to push back the encroaching Honkai Zombie-girls and quickly exited. The moment she was out, the carnival's gate slammed shut with a deafening crash.
(End of Chapter)